The schools in Hyderabad have started admissions for the next academic year and have increased the fees sharply as the government of Telangana is yet to take a decision on the regulation bill.
A school in Begumpet has now fixed the fee of PP1 at around Rs 3.2 lakh per year despite the fact that the children at this stage spend merely 3-4 hours in the school.
Protests by parents
Though parents are protesting against the hike in the fees, the institutions are hardly paying any heed to it as there is no regulation that can stop them from raising the fee.
The parents are of the view that if the hike in fee by schools in Hyderabad continues, it will soon reach a level where parents will not be able to afford it.
Even after paying enormous fees, many institutions in the city make it mandatory to either purchase books from them or from the shop referred by them.
Many parents have disclosed that the cost of books for a second standard student is around Rs 10,000.
Moreover, the institutions have made it mandatory to purchase school uniforms too from their premises. They sell the uniforms at exorbitant prices.
Teachers not paid equally
The managements of schools in Hyderabad usually claim that the hike is due to a rise in salaries of teachers and other expenses related to infrastructure; however, the fact is the opposite.
When contacted, teachers said that their salaries are not at all in proportion to the fee demanded from the students. Apart from that, the teachers disclosed that every year, their salary hikes are meagre.
Regulation recommended for fees in schools in Hyderabad, other districts
The Telangana Education Commission (TEC) has proposed a draft law aimed at bringing school fees under a clear and regulated system.
The proposal suggests grouping schools based on factors like infrastructure and location, setting a maximum fee limit for each group, and permitting increases only within a fixed range linked to the Consumer Price Index. However, the proposal is yet to be approved by the Cabinet.
Members of the commission have stressed that the government should act quickly and implement the law. They also said that any fee increase must be justified to parents and cannot be done without proper reasons.
